The experts offer these suggestions to avoid pitfalls related to emotion:
Don’t expect a potential buyer to see the value you attach to certain features of your property. They are not likely to pay a premium for something that has special value only in your mind. Don’t’ let your emotional attachments lead you into setting an unrealistic price. Remember, too, that the price you paid for your property is not likely the price that it will bring. While an older property may have escalated in value, if you bought at the market’s peak a few years ago, you may find the asking price will be adjusted downward.
If you have marked emotional feelings about the property, please let the realtor conduct showings. Make arrangements to be absent, says Renee Weinberg of Petrey Real Estate in Long Beach, N. Y. , in a Bankrate.com article.
Having the seller at hand becomes sensitive when a potential buyer finds flaws in the property, agreed Karyn Anjali Glubis of The Real Estate Expert in Tampa, Fla. When the seller takes comments personally, the sale is jeopardized. The seller must remember that the comments relate to the property, not to the person, she said. The involvement of the seller may hamper the free flow of conversation between the prospective buyers and the realtor. Better that the parties do not meet until there is a serious proposal for purchase.
Those who are selling need to be aware that the most interest will come during the first two weeks. The longer a property is on the market, the worse the offers are likely to get, the experts know. Sellers worry that they may have underpriced their property, but waiting for a better offer may keep the property on the market longer. The market tends to make reasonable adjustments over time.
Taking the whole process personally is a mistake, said Fiona Dogan, a realtor in Rye, N.Y. “Sellers need to become emotionally detached very quickly from their homes. By its nature, a real estate transaction is aggressive and confrontational since the seller wants the highest price and the buyer the lowest.” Negotiations usually will mean that the would-be buyer will point out flaws and the seller could be offended. But such nit-picking means the buyer is genuinely interested, Dogan said. To pass up the sale because of such feelings defeats the purpose in a big way.